August 14, 2012

The Battle of the Ledge

I've decided I much prefer female singers with deep voices. I love Cher's voice, for instance. It has weight and depth, and isn't some wispy little soprano that sounds like it could be blown away in a stiff breeze. Lucinda Williams' voice is cracked and twisted, but it holds so much emotion--you listen to one line of her songs and you know that woman has lived.

Mary Gauthier is another tremendous singer/songwriter along this line. I suppose technically her voice would be called an alto, although it's a bit more polished--and in better shape--than Lucinda Williams' tobacco-and-whiskey phrasing. Her Wikipedia page is interesting--apparently she's lived quite the life (and didn't write her first song till she was 35!).

My favorite song of hers is actually the roots-rocker "It Ain't the Wind, It's the Rain." However, looking over her website, I saw this video set to a montage of images from "Battlestar Galactica," about Lee Adama of all people, and couldn't resist.

If you haven't watched "Battlestar Galactica" (the aughts version, not the 70's "Star Wars" ripoff with feathered haircuts), you should do so immediately, of course. In the meantime, enjoy this mashup, and thrill to Mary Gauthier's wonderfully evocative voice.